Hinchey pushing for immediate help

Saturday

Sep 17, 2011 at 2:00 AM

While the U.S. Senate just passed a broad $6.9 billion bill to add money to the federal disaster relief fund, agricultural emergency relief programs and the Army Corps of Engineers, the House of Representatives has proposed adding $1 billion in disaster aid now and $2.65 billion starting Oct. 1 with the new fiscal year.

HEATHER YAKIN

While the U.S. Senate just passed a broad $6.9 billion bill to add money to the federal disaster relief fund, agricultural emergency relief programs and the Army Corps of Engineers, the House of Representatives has proposed adding $1 billion in disaster aid now and $2.65 billion starting Oct. 1 with the new fiscal year.

The House proposal provides an immediate $774 million for FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund and $226 million to the Army Corps of Engineers for flood control. The proposal includes $1.5 billion in budget cuts to offset that money, with the aid taken from a Department of Energy loan program meant to encourage development of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, firmly supports the Senate version for disaster relief. He urged House Speaker John Boehner to bring an identical proposal to an up-or-down vote.

"The easiest, simplest and smartest thing to do is immediately take up the Senate bill, which provides the funding necessary to address this crisis without delay. We cannot afford to play politics with this issue," Hinchey said.

"Instead of using a single, simple emergency funding bill, the House scheme involves a complex set of overlapping bills that would each require a specific offset," Hinchey continued. "This is a recipe for confusion, political gridlock and yet another Washington game of brinkmanship at a time when New York families, small businesses, farmers, and local governments can least afford it."

Hinchey and U.S. Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, are among the co-chairs of the House's bipartisan Hurricane Irene Coalition. The coalition sent a letter Tuesday to House leaders, imploring them to quickly approve more disaster aid money.

"As co-chair of the bipartisan House Hurricane Irene coalition, Congresswoman Hayworth supports any measure that immediately provides FEMA and the other federal agencies involved in the relief and recovery efforts with the funds necessary to fulfill their mission in response to Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee," said Hayworth's communications director, Nathaniel Sillin.

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who formed the hurricane coalition, called the House proposal "a good start" because it provides an immediate infusion of a significant amount of money to help people hurt in the disasters. The offsetting budget cuts was a House leadership decision, he said, and one he opposes as a practical matter.

"That's unwise to do. We've never done it before," Welch said. "I'll have to support what is required to get the money back to the towns and the states and the businesses that have been hammered."